


DOMESTIC SCIENCE 



CRETE PLAN 







DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 

LINCOLN 
September, 191 f 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE 



CRETE PLAN 




DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION 

LINCOLN 
September, 1911 






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INTRODUCTORY. 



The rapid and substantial growth of industrial education during 
the past few years can be explained only on the hypothesis that it is 
meeting the demands of the best educators. To find a place in our 
educational system a new subject must add something to the phys- 
ical, mental or moral development of the pupil. Industrial education 
has proved that it adds to the powers of the pupil in all three of these 
essentials. 

Manual training and domestic science have made the most rapid 
growth, partly because it is easier to prepare for the successful teach- 
ing of these subjects and partly because skill acquired in them is more 
readily and quickly applied in actual life. 

Schools in the cities and larger towns are able to equip rooms 
for manual training and domestic science and employ special teachers 
for these subjects. The smaller towns and rural schools, however, 
where such work is needed as much as in the cities, cannot meet the 
extra expense of equipment and teachers. 

Whatever will in any way add to the efficiency of our smaller 
schools will be helping to develop the powers of a large and important 
class of our pupils. It is with this in mind that this department is 
issuing this bulletin on a plan of teaching domestic science that has 
been in use in the state more than five years and has been pronounced 
practical by many superintendents of schools and by teachers of do- 
mestic science. 

The many inquiries that have been made concerning the Crete 
Plan in domestic science, the general interest shown in the subject 
of industrial culture as an important part of a broad education for our 
young women, the success that has attended the Crete Plan when 
managed properly through the co-operative effort of judicious superin- 
tendent and progressive home-makers, are the reasons for the pre- 
sentation of the plan in this form. 

There are over one thousand towns and villages in the state where 
the Crete Plan might be used successfully. This plan costs the school 
district little or nothing. As conducted in Crete for five years it cost 
nothing. The plan of furnishing a room and equipping it for a 
kitchen, furnishing material for the work and employing a special 
teacher costs considerable, but the results secured are worth much 
more than the cost. There are about fifteen of the larger towns and 
cities that now employ special teachers with good results. Probably 
it will be many years before fifty places in the state will be able to 
do this. 



4 THE CRETE PLAN 

While the Crete Plan is not a substitute for the larger course it 
has proved to be useful in encouraging our girls, through their intimate 
association with leading home makers to appreciate the fact that the 
ladies who have the broadest culture are those who can use their hands 
as well as their heads. 

If by any plan the thousands of girls in towns and villages can 
be helped to realize the nobility of toil and to understand that bread 
making is as compatible with high and noble thinking as is piano 
playing or the study of Shakespeare then we shall be moving more 
rapidly toward the day of happier homes and truer culture and at the 
same time be returning a better value to the tax payers for the mil- 
lions expended by them for education. 

The Crete Plan of domestic science did not receive its name 
from the originator nor from any of the philanthropic women of Crete 
who made it possible for the plan to succeed. Others who saw the 
value of the fundamental principles in the method as it was developed 
in Crete spoke of it as the "Crete Plan in Domestic Science." The 
Omaha World-Herald of January 21, 1906, in an illustrated article calls 
it "The Crete Plan." F. G. Stephens in a lengthy article for an eastern 
paper uses the same term. Supt. E. C. Bishop in an address at the 
N. E. A. meeting at Los Angeles, 1907, gave a careful summary of 
the "Crete Plan." 

These and others are responsible for the name by which the type 
of domestic science effort originated at Crete is known. There is 
nothing new in this method except the manner of combination of 
several factors and forces in such a way as to secure a new result. 

This bulletin is prepared by Inspector G. A. Gregory, who orig- 
inated and developed this method of teaching domestic science, while 
superintendent of the Crete public schools. 

Very sincerely, 



J. W. CRABTREE. 



Lincoln, Nebraska, 

August, 30, 1911. 



THE PLAN. 

To fully understand the value of the plan it is well to note some 
of the fundamental principles on which it is based. This can be 
done by following the process of reasoning which led to its inception. 

A study of our American educational system and the results ob- 
tained, leads to the conclusion that the intellectual training received 
does not give the broadest culture nor fit the average pupil to live 
properly. A large part of the most valuable culture received by many 
of our most competent girls does not come from the schools hot from 
the home. From their mothers the girls are learning lessons that go 
far toward making them efficient cultured women both for the home 
and society. 

Other girls are not receiving or practicing these lessons. There 
are still many girls who grow up in an atmosphere where the culture 
that fits one for the parlor or library is rated high while the culture 
that prepares one to excel in the kitchen and dining room is rated low. 
Many a girl is said to be educated because she has graduated with a 
good record in Latin and Mathematics. Other girls who have not 
finished a school course, are considered as lacking an education, al- 
though it often happens that these are the girls who staid at home 
and became proficient in the kind of education that will go farther 
to make a happy home than will the intellectual type of culture. The 
girl who goes through the schools is lauded and cheered on by the 
public. The one who must sacrifice her desire for a college course in 
order to help at home receives little encouragement from the public 
and, too often, little from those who receive her assistance. 

It was for the purpose of recognizing the value of the home cul- 
ture, of placing honor on toil, and of giving all the girls in the high 
school a chance of receiving recognition for the culture that comes 
from manual effort, that the Crete Plan was devised. 

In every community there are women who are known to be skillful 
in certain lines of cookery. They are always in favor at picnics, and 
banquets. No matter how they acquired their ability they are judged 
by the results of their efforts. Such ladies are usually among the 
most genial and liberal, most affable and helpful women in the com- 
munity. If these capable women could be helped to see the oppor- 
tunity open to them of doing great good to the girls of the high school 
it was believed they would gladly respond. They, of all women, would 
be quick to realize that the school and home should be more closely 



6 THE CRETE PLAN 

in touch. They would be alive to the growing demand for industrial 
education. If they would consent to become a part of the corps of 
instructors in the high school, giving from their practical experience, 
lessons in domestic science then could a workable plan be readily put 
into action. 

A meeting of ladies who were believed to be interested was called 
and these ideas laid before them. The result was more encourag- 
ing than any one could anticipate. Much enthusiasm was shown by 
all and more volunteered assistance than could be accepted. It was 
decided that instruction should be offered to all high school girls in 
the preparation and cooking of twenty common articles. The instruc- 
tion would be given in the homes of the ladies. Each instructor would 
give lessons on two articles. The girls would take notes on the in- 
struction given by the teacher and on the observation of her methods 
of preparation of the given article. The girls would then practice 
in their own homes until they believed they had become quite skill- 
ful, when they would bring the prepared articles to an exhibit where it 
would be passed upon by judges. The superintendent of the school 
would have the general management of the plan, organize the classes, 
and direct their movements as well as keep all the records. If the 
work was well done by the girls, so that it met the approval of the 
judges and the board of education, it should count for one credit 
toward graduation from the high school course. That is, a girl on 
completing the course would have placed to her credit on the high school 
records her grade in domestic science and it would count as much to- 
ward her graduation as a semester of Latin or Chemistry. 

When the plan was presented to the high school girls they re- 
ceived it with great enthusiasm. About two weeks later the girls 
made a request that they be given some of the work during the sum- 
mer vacation, soon at hand, so they would be well started by the 
beginning of the school year the following September. Their request 
was granted and the plan was in operation in June. Through the sum- 
mer of 1905 about fifty girls were meeting in regular classes. The 
plan was therefore well under way at the opening of the fall term 
of school. 

The Crete Plan is used successfully in a number of places. Crete, 
Beaver City, Exeter, Clay Center, DeWitt, Blair, Nelson, Ashland, 
Chadron, are some of the towns where the progressive ladies are giving 
domestic science instruction. In some places the plan is modified to 
suit local conditions but in all the same general principles are fol- 
lowed. In May, 1911, there were known to be more than ninety 
instructors and three hundred pupils working along this line. 

Some of the claims made by these instructors, for the Crete Plan 
are: Recognition of the cultural value of domestic science; utilizing 
the knowledge and skill of practical housekeepers of the community; 



SUCCESSFUL COMBINATION 7 

bringing high school girls into friendly association with real home 
makers; giving these girls frequent opportunities of seeing and noting 
the arrangements of many home interiors from kitchen to parlor; see- 
ing the most respected and influential ladies engaged in culinary 
operations; doing all the work in a real home with home atmosphere 
and home environment; placing honor upon toil in the home; giving 
recognition to the work on the records of the school. 

The successful combination of these and other principles, 
as worked out at Crete, has proved the plan practical. Its adoption 
and successful operation by other schools is evidence that the home 
and school can help each other and that both are made better through 
their co-operation. 



ORGANIZATION AND WORKING OF THE PLAN. 

The Crete Plan is best suited to villages, and towns up to about 
three thousand population. With slight modification it can be used in 
rural schools. In cities the pupils in the high school come from so 
large a territory that it would be difficult for them to meet at the 
homes of the instructors. 

The movement to organize for the work may originate within or 
without the school, but it cannot succeed unless there is earnest in- 
terest in the work both from the home and school. The superintendent 
must be in hearty sympathy and either he or one of the most influential 
high school teachers be willing to stand for and manage the school 
side of the woi'k. Before any general meeting is called there should 
be a full and fair discussion of the plan, and of the advisability of 
trying it, between the superintendent or principal of the school and a 
few ladies who are heartily interested in the girls and the school. In 
the case of Crete, the superintendent after a few months' careful 
thought counselled with Mrs. E. K. Manville, principal of the high 
school, Mrs. C. B. Anderson and Mrs. G. A. Gregory. These after 
due deliberation urged the matter forward. 

First Meeting of Ladies. 

If after careful consideration between the school authority and a 
few reliable ladies it is deemed wise to go farther, a meeting of 
women representing as many as possible, of the various church and 
social interests, should be called at some home at a time when the 
school can be I'epresented. If it is decided best to try the plan and 
enough ladies are willing to open their homes and act as instructors 
then it is safe to proceed. 

Presenting Plan to Girls. 

The next step is to present the plan to the high school girls. This 
can be done at the school building at some opportune time but should 
be done by the one who is in hearty sympathy and best adapted for 
it whether in or out of school. The girls should be shown that they 
can easily carry this work without omitting any other subject since 
they have four years to master about twenty articles of cookery and 
that if preferred most of the work can be done in the summer follow- 
ing the lessons they have received during the school year. This would 
mean that they could graduate with an extra point to their credit on 
the records of the school. Or if properly arranged with the school 
board the domestic science might take the place of one term of some 



10 THE CRETE PLAN 

study of the junior or senior year. Sometimes from sickness or other 
cause a pupil fails on a semester of work and is unable to . make it 
up, then the domestic science may be substituted. Several pupils have 
graduated from Crete with their class, who could not have done so 
except for their domestic science credit. Many more have graduated 
with thirty-three credit points. 

After the plan is well explained if there are enough girls who 
wish to undertake it the way is open to proceed. Usually it is not 
well to undertake it unless at least half the high school girls care 
for it. Eighth grade and even seventh grade girls if deemed best may 
be admitted. Local conditions must govern in many details. 

Operating the Plan. 

In selecting the instructors care must be taken to secure a range 
of ability among them. Generally this is not difficult. The specific 
articles listed in the course may vary with the abilities of the instruc- 
tors. To illustrate in a concrete way the following original corps of 
instructors at Crete together with their subjects is given: 

Mrs. C. B. Anderson, soup stock, noodles, and preparation of left 
overs. 

Mrs. G. A. Gregory, pies. 

Mrs. H. McCargar, cakes. 

Mrs. S. L. Mains, gems and corn bread. 

Mrs. C. B. Goodell, meats. 

Mrs. E. L. Wilcox, bread. 

Mrs. M. E. Streeter, biscuit. 

Miss Nell Murphy, desserts and salads. 

Mrs. Z. Waterman, cookies and doughnuts. 

Mrs. J. H. Bahner, vegetables. 

Since 1905 some of these have removed from Crete or withdrawn 
because of health or household duties but the corps has been kept 
filled by the addition of: 

Mrs. E. J. Steidl, cookies and doughnuts. 

Mrs. A. Dredla, bread. 

Mrs. Emily Russell, cookies and doughnuts. 

Miss Stella Stephens, vegetables. 

Mrs. R. D. Brown, meats. 

Mrs. L. H. Denison, cakes. 

The corps of instructors is self-perpetuating and it will be seen 
from the above original list and the changes that the same course 
has continued throughout. 

Note also that some have more subjects than others, that is, under 
the head of meats three articles, cooking of roasts, meat loaf, and 
poultry, were taught. Two kinds of cakes, two kinds of pies, usually 
three or more vegetables were taught by one person. It is not neces- 



WORKING OF THE PLAN 11 

sary to follow this course. Each locality manages that to suit condi- 
tions or instructors. Some places have more than twenty articles, 
some a few less. 

Classes. 

In arranging classes it is usually well to have at least six in one 
class; ten is still better if the homes can accommodate that number. 
Generally it is well to group the upper grades together rather than 
the upper and lower. 

Time of Meeting. 

Half past three for all the classes has proved a good hour. The 
day of the week should be chosen to suit the instructor. In most 
schools there are few or no recitations in the high school after half 
past three. Even if there should be the girls can be excused to attend 
the domestic science for it would not on the average happen more than 
five times a year. If a pupil is excused no record should be made of 
her absence since she is in a class of as much importance as the one 
she has left. 

During the first year of the work some of the seniors may wish 
to move rapidly so as to finish the course before graduation. After 
that no pupil will need to go to a class oftener than once a month, 
since there are about twenty articles in the course and four years to 
complete it an average of five articles per year would cover the work. 
Usually a girl visits a class not more than once to get the lesson on 
each article, though she may attend as many times as she likes, and 
since some of the instructors give their lessons on two subjects at 
one session it is evident that there is no great burden as to class 
attendance either for the pupils or teachers. There should not be two 
classes meeting during the same week, then the passing of the class 
out of the building is scarcely noticeable. 

Fixed and Changeable Dates. 

Each instructor should have a fixed day for her class as, the third 
Wednesday, or the second Tuesday, etc. of each month. Occasionally 
an instructor is called away. She should simply notify the superin- 
tendent who announces, "Mrs. Anderson will not meet her domestic 
science class this week, Thursday." Later a special day may, if deemed 
best, be arranged. 

Passing of Classes. 

Suppose the girls arranged in four classes. Class 1, seniors; 
class 2, juniors; class 3, sophomores; class 4, freshmen. Send class 
No. 1 the first week of the month to teacher No. 1, class 2 the sec- 
ond week to teacher No. 2, class No. 3 the third week to teacher No. 
3 and class 4 the fourth week to teacher No. 4. 

Thus during the first month each girl has received instructions 



12 THE CRETE PLAN 

on which she can be at work, and four of the teachers have given in- 
structions. 

Next month take the same order with the classes but go on with 
the remaining teachers in regular order, i. e. Class No. 1 goes to teach- 
er No. 2. Continue this until each one of the teachers has given a 
lesson then go around again if necessary. This gives the teachers a 
chance to exchange their views and experiences at a comparatively 
early date. Pupils who miss a class should always take the next 
class, but stay with her division for the regular work. 

Arrangements are easily made for pupils who may be out a 
few months or even for two years. Sometimes it is advisable to 
change pupils permanently from one class to another. Suit personal 
choice of pupils as far as possible. A monitor is appointed by the 
superintendent for each class. Her duty is to report back to the 
superintendent the attendance at each meeting and he keeps a record 
of it in a convenient book. Instructors should not be asked to do 
anything but give instruction and do such other work as pertains 
directly to domestic science. 

At the Home. 

Arriving at the home of the instructor at half past three they 
are seated in such room as is convenient, parlor, sitting room or dining 
room and the talk to the class is given. In this talk the girls are told 
not only the recipe but details as to materials, preparation of same, 
degree of heat required, common causes of failure, etc. In fact every- 
thing that in the .mind of a practical cook would help the anrls to 
succeed. 

Each girl places at the top of the left hand page in her note 
book the date and name of instructor, copies the recipe carefully and 
makes such other notes as she may choose, then signs her name at 
the bottom. Occasionally all the books are called in and inspected. 
Careless work in note books should not be permitted. 

The instructors besides giving a talk and the recipe usually pre- 
pare the article ready for cooking and sometimes as in biscuit, cookies, 
and the Jike cook the article in the presence of the girls. With meats 
and poultry the article is prepared for cooking. With white bread the 
girls are asked to stop a few minutes after school at the home of 
the instructor, and see the first step, setting the sponge, call the next 
morning before school and see the next step, mixing the bread, about 
half past eleven and see the bread ready for the oven, at one o'clock 
on the way back to school and see the result, a fine loaf of well 
cooked bread. 

Home Practice. 

The girls now go to their homes and at the earliest possible date, 
when they can have time, carefully try the recipe. There should be no 



WORKING OF THE PLAN 13 

objection to receiving help from any source at this time. In fact 
it is a good thing for the daughter to get her mother to watch her 
and offer suggestions in the many little details familiar to every mother 
but which cannot all be told by an instructor in one lesson. 

Recipe Optional. 

The pupil should faithfully try the recipe given, a few times, 
after which if she knows, or if any one can tell her, a better way of 
making the article she is at liberty to use that method. Remembering 
that the purpose of the plan is mutual benefit to both home and school, 
and remembering that nearly every one knows how to do some things 
better than any one else knows how to do them it is the part of wis- 
dom to accept the best without regard to the source. This liberal 
policy, too, disarms the criticism sometimes offered that the instructors 
of domestic science do not know more about cooking than do the 
women who are teaching it. The instructors admit this and invite 
any one to make suggestions and help the work along. 

Girls in the different classes are practicing in their own homes and 
learning to handle real cooking utensils on a real stove heated by 
the usual fire of that home, the materials being of the kind anc} 
quality used in the home. This is no play work. It is the "real 
thing" and there seems to be a certain exhilaration about it that helps 
to cheer the girl on to success. 

If it is a good thing, and no one doubts it, to learn domestic 
science in a school where everything that invention and skill can do is 
ready at hand for the pupil, is it not worth while to enter the field 
of actual life and with cruder implements win a fair degree of success? 

We have seen loaves of white bread made in rude surroundings 
baked by a cob fire win prizes over those baked in the ovens of fine 
ranges. The world's prize winning corn bread at the National Corn 
Exposition, Omaha, December, 1908, and at the Education exhibit at 
the Nebraska State Fair, September, 1909 was made by a country girl 
who had no definite recipe for making it. 



EXHIBITS. 

After most of the girls believe they are skillful in cooking one 
or more articles, perhaps at the end of five months it is well to have 
an exhibit of the work by the girls. 

This is done by having each girl bring one or more of the 
articles she has learned to prepare to the school house on Saturday 
afternoon where they are arranged on tables for the inspection of 
the judges. A good improvised table may be made by laying a couple 
of clean boards lengthwise of a row of seats in a room that can be 
conveniently heated. 



14 THE CRETE PLAN 

Saturday afternoon is considered the best time as the girls will 
have from Friday after school to prepare the articles. Often a girl 
will bring several articles which she has made since Friday. Cookies, 
cake, dessert, meat loaf, and corn bread are easily prepared. Another 
advantage is that a large part of some articles can be used for the 
family meal at noon on Saturday. Every girl should have her family 
thoroughly interested in her success. 

A committee of the girls should receive the articles, label and 
place them properly before the judges arrive. They should also plan 
that the room be as clean and cheerful as possible for the occasion. 
They should provide all the utensils necessary for testing the articles, 
and pencils for marking. They should arrange so that their instruc- 
tors, who are the judges, shall have nothing to do but act as judges. 

Bringing Articles to Exhibit. 

In most cases it is not necessary to bring more than a part of 
an article to the exhibit; enough so the judges can have a fair idea 
as to the quality of the work. This applies especially to meats, veg- 
etables, salad dressing, desserts, large cakes and the like. Most girls, 
however, prefer to bring pies, cakes, and the most toothsome articles 
whole and treat their companions at the close of the exhibit. Parents 
are usually pleased to furnish all the material the girls need for these 
exhibits. 

Judging. 

When the exhibit is ready, which should be as early as half past 
two, the girls withdraw to another room while the judges are busy. 
Generally no one but judges and the class should be in or about the 
building. The instructors always act as judges, but no instructor 
judges the product of her own instruction. The advantage of this is 
evident. Two judges should pass on each article. This will often 
necessitate each set of two judging several articles. Saturday after- 
noon is usually a busy time in the home, but since the exhibit need not 
come more than three times a year, instructors can make suitable 
arrangements. In some towns, where farmers' institutes and fairs 
are held, the domestic science class of the high school is invited to 
make an exhibit. It is well both for instructors and the girls to accept 
such invitation occasionally, if possible. On such an occasion all the 
articles can be entered with the regular card and the instructors can 
judge and mark as for the usual exhibit. In this way the public may 
see some of the work of the girls, and the girls receive credit for 
the work done at a regular exhibit. 

Marking. 

Each article when placed on exhibit has attached or placed with 
it a judging card, which is printed in a form that makes it a cer- 
tificate of the faithful preparation of the article by the exhibitor. 



JUDGING CARDS 15 

The one used by the Nelson high school is a good form and is given 
below. These tags may be bought of any dealer. The Nebraska 
Paper & Bag Company, of Lincoln, handles them at about 70c per 
thousand plain, or $2.20 per thousand, printed both sides as shown 
below: 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE 



O ) ,, - 

^-^ J 'litis . _ 75 the ])rofhict of my 

oicn ivork ivlth no help or su ^o'es/io/i. frovi (ini/lxxiy. 

Signed . jiupiJ. 

Coutitersi^ne({ . uioflier. 





Front Side of Judging Card. 






IJuitgtug (Earft 

Grade by Judges Poor Sutisfacfor/y 
Remnrl-s ■ 


. Kxee.lleiit 


o) 












\ 


1 




Signed. < 


V Judges 


\ 







Back Side of Judging Card. 

On the first line print the words or figures used in the local school 
for recording grades. 



16 



THE CRETE PLAN 



Enough of these cards are taken home by the girls before the 
exhibit so they can be filled out, signed, and brought with each article. 
On the reverse side the judges are to place their grades, which are to 
be of the same kind and in the same terms as are used in the school 
for marking algebra. The first line of this side should be printed in 
such terms. The superintendent would give explanation of the mark- 
ings used so that the ladies can easily follow them. After ''Remarks" 
the judges write anything they wish in the way of suggestion: "Too 
much shortening," "Baked too long," "Take this pie to your instruc- 
tor," "Try it again," etc., or leave the lines blank. 

Filing Cards. 

After an article has been accepted by the judges as passing the 
required standard, the card should be filed away by the superintendent. 
All the cards should be kept as a permanent part of the records of 
the school. Thousands of them will occupy but little space. Not 
less than a thousand cards should be purchased to begin any class. 

Record Book. 

Besides filing the cards a record book of a convenient form should 
be kept. In this the girls' names appear, and the work they have 
done placed opposite their names in a compact form. Each one can 
devise a book suitable to conditions. The following sketch proved 
satisfactory at Crete. The book used was a regular daily attendance 
school register, using a double page and writing in the 'headings at 
top of the page. 

Part of Left Hand Page. 



Domestic Science ^3 

Crete S 

High School I 



Louise Segelke 20-5-05 



Emily Russell 20-5-05 



Bessie Wissenburgb8-8-'07 



Nora Talp 18-9-08 



M 



E . M 





1 
•0 




ni 




0) 




u 




pq 


■*^ 


c 


3 


S~i 








Oh 


U 



o 



.E 



M 



iE 



:G.. 



E.I 



E 



M 



GENERAL DEMONSTRATIONS 17 

The dot in square shows that the girl received the lesson on 
that subject. The letter is the grade received when the article is judged. 
E, excellent; G, good; M, medium; P, poor but passed. Judges seldom 
accept poor, or use the mark. 

By this plan of recording the standing of any girl is shown at 
a glance. No girl should be given credit for an article until she has 
attended the lesson on that article. 
Banquets. 

The course is extensive enough so that by the time a class has 
finished it, or even before, the girls are capable of giving a banquet 
to their instructors or to the school board. This has been done in 
several towns. 

One given at Crete was a full four course chicken dinner. The 
fathers and mothers of the fifty girls, members of the school board 
and their wives, domestic science faculty and husbands, together with 
some of the prominent people of the town, one hundred and fifty in all, 
were easily and sumptuously cared for. 

All the girls are at the service of the ladies for afternoon teas 
and other functions. Here they acquire skill in setting tables and 
serving. 
General Demonstrations. 

Occasionally the entire class with their instructors meet in a 
school room, an oil stove and necessary equipment are brought in and 
a demonstration given by one of the instructors. This may be on 
making tea or coffee, biscuits, home-made candy, or any other easily 
made article. By this means much valuable instruction is given that 
is not included in the regular course. This is a time when many 
things may be discussed that pertain to the well being of the move- 
ment and the upbuilding of the girls. Foods and their relative nu- 
tritive values, various methods of preparation, new dishes, are profit- 
able topics. 



18 THE CRETE PLAN 



FLEXIBILITY OF THE PLAN. 



It is readily seen that the plan is very easily adjusted to the local 
conditions of any town. There are only two absolutely essential ele- 
ments necessary to its success: Mature people with good judgment 
who believe in industrial culture, and are anxious to help high school 
girls grow into the best type of woman, and high school girls who 
are anxious to secure the broadest and best culture possible to them 
in their environment. A wise superintendent belongs to the first 
class and he can usually bring the two elements into harmonious rela- 
tion if he wishes. All other details are easily worked out and ad- 
justed if the plan is undertaken. 

The fact that the plan is quite flexible is one reason for its 
success. High school pupils are continually under the strain of being 
on time at every one of the seven hundred-twenty recitations per 
year. With the average high school girl there are about thirty times 
a day when she should be prompt, one hundred and fifty times in 
five days, or two thousand seven hundred in a school year of one hun- 
dred eighty days. Promptness is a good habit to form, but the usual 
human nature enjoys a little variety. 

Consideration of the following features of the plan will lead a 
student of human nature to see why girls usually like it. 

They are not compelled to take it unless they wish to. They 
must take algebra, English, botany, etc., but they may choose this. 
They are not marked down or scolded if they miss a class. They 
may even go to the same instructor along with another class. They 
are not required to practice a certain number of hours per day. They 
may even wait until summer and do all their practice at a time when 
it will release mother and let her have a needed rest from her strenu- 
ous life. They do not even have to complete the course in order 
to graduate from the high school unless they choose, for they can 
easily carry the full regular work and this too. They may even com- 
plete this course after they have graduated from the high school 
and receive their certificates or diplomas for this special work. After 
trying a recipe they may discard it and follow their own wishes — a 
precious privilege to any one. 

What a privilege, too, it is to leave the school room before school 
is out and be trusted to walk across the town, enter the home of a 
friend and be welcomed by one who cares enough for them to turn 
aside from her personal affairs and help them along a line in which 
they are keenly interested. The girls do not forget that these in- 
structors are not paid for the services. That has been shown many 
times by the girls planning various treats for their benefactors. 



GRADUATION. 

Two of the schools where the Crete Plan is used, Crete and 
DeWitt, perhaps others, arrange for occasional special graduation rf 
those who have completed the domestic science course. 

At Crete it was planned to have such graduation once in three 
years when all who have finished will receive a certificate or diploma 
as evidence of their work. The plan of graduation is briefly as fol- 
lows: All who are to graduate from the course and those still in the 
course furnish a banquet for certain invited guests. This is done as 
evidence to the guests that the members of the class have earned a 
right to the recognition Ho be conferred upon them. Before or at the 
close of the banquet there is a short program of music, furnished from 
any source, a talk along the lines of domestic science or industrial 
education, preferably by home talent, and a closing talk by one of 
the instructors if possible. Some may prefer to secure speakers from 
abroad. This graduation emphasizes the value of the work and opens 
the way for generous public recognition. 

Domestic Science Instructors. 

The instructors may form a simple organization by electing each 
year a president and secretary. The simpler the organization the 
better. There is seldom any business to transact that needs recording 
and the less cumbersome the business the better. Usually commit- 
tees are appointed for a special purpose and when that purpose is 
served the committee expires. 

Expense. 

The Crete Plan calls for no expense on the part of the school 
board. Instructors are not necessarily put to any expense as the 
articles prepared in giving lessons are used in the families of the 
instructors. Girls who are receiving the great benefit are furnished 
material at home for the results of their efforts are usually welcomed 
by their family and their parents are usually much pleased to have 
them become skillful in cookery. 

This is in strong contrast with the five to eight hundred dollars 
yearly expense in a school where a special teacher gives all her time 
to domestic science instruction. 



RESULTS. 

Besides the results naturally expected from domestic science in 
the way of helping girls to some knowledge of the culinary art there 



RESULTS 21 

are some features connected with the Crete Plan which, to those who 
are in position to judge, appear to be very useful. A few of these 
features are given here. 

Study Interiors. 

The girls see the interiors of many of the be^t homes. Arrange- 
ments of dining rooms, sitting rooms, pictures, styles of furniture, 
and innumerable other items are theirs to inspect and compare. They 
carry the impression and pictures in their memories, talk with each 
other about them and build many air castles furnished with what 
appeals to them as most beautiful and useful. 

Proud of Their Ability. 

It is found that girls in the Crete Plan are proud of their ability 
to make a good loaf of bread, roast a fowl, or prepare a dainty dessert. 
They talk with one another about their accomplishments .and delight 
in being known as a good cook. As a result many of them are found 
at the proper time in the kitchen or dining room while their mothers 
are entertaining callers in the parlor. 

Influence in the Home. ' • 

As a result of seeing the older sisters interested in cooking, the 
younger sisters and often even the brothers are found imitating them 
much to the advantage of the younger ones. A taste for useful em- 
ployment must be formed early or it is likely never to be .formed. 
Many mothers drive their children into idleness by refusing to let 
them help about the housework. A selfish mother will be heard ex- 
claiming to her children: "Run away and play. I would rather wash 
the dishes than have you pottering about." 

Better Material Furnished. 

Many parents have said that after their girls had entered the do- 
mestic science class, better material and greater variety found place 
in their homes. The girls wished to try the recipes the instructors 
had given them with just such material as had been recommended. 
The result was in some cases better prepared food, more nourishing, 
and in greater variety without increasing the cost. Of course, all this 
appealed strongly to the father who is often found a valiant champion 
of the plan. 

Culinary Results. 

Because the girls from the start do this cooking for a family 
they are learning to meet the various little problems that enter into 
real home experience. They are therefore growing into practical cooks 
who can and do take full charge of the house-work during vacations, 
summer time, and when emergencies arise. That cooking is taught 
practically under the Crete Plan is not doubted by those who have 



22 



THE CRETE PLAN 






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OPENING FOR CLUB WOMEN 23 

seen the prizes and premiums won by girls trained under this method. 
The entire scheme tends to develop resourcefulness and keen judg- 
ment, two essential characteristics in a good cook. 

Influence of the Women, 

The unconscious influence of the instructors upon the girls is 
quite noticeable. It could not be otherwise. All these women know 
the girls personally and are their friends. Wherever they meet the 
girls, on the street, in social circles, at church, they have a kindly 
greeting for them. The girls feel that they have real friends in their 
instructors who are helping them without any pecuniary remuneration. 

Effect Upon Instructors. 

It is well known that association with young enthusiastic life has 
a strong influence over maturer life to keep it more optimistic. The 
ladies who meet these girls find them enthusiastic, responsive to their 
touch. It is natural to desire appreciation and this the ladies get 
from the girls. The desire to shape things to conform ,^to our ideas 
is a divine instinct to us all. Here the women have the opportunity 
of shaping, to some extent, the most precious material— humanity, 
it is no wonder that instructors often say that "The work is a pleasure 
and that they would regret very much if the time should come when 
they would have to give up their girls of the domestic science classes." 

Permanence. 

The reason why this plan has proved so permanent in the towns 
where tried is because its vitality depends so largely upon mature 
responsible women of the community. Teachers in public schools 
come and go, they are not a self perpetuating body. The domestic 
science instructors have a standing and the members are influential 
in the community. If an instructor leaves the work, another is selected 
by those who know the needs of the case. All the machinery equip- 
ment and methods of the whole plan are ready for use in a few hours' 
notice. The whole plant may be closed for a month or a year and no 
jar or lost energy will result. If any woman in the community thinks 
she can do better than one of the instructors, she may be added to the 
faculty at once and set to work. Some one has said: "It is the most 
democratic plan of cooperation and most scientifically devised f ethod 
of philanthropy yet .discoveerd." 

Opening for Club Women. 

The majority of the instructors in this plan are, as might be 
guessed, club women. Many women in clubs and those not in clubs, 
who have a little l-eisure are glad to be useful to their friends and 
neighbors. They do not care to spend all their energies on Browning 
or in devising some method of beautifying the streets of their town, 
laudable as these objects may be. 



24 THE CRETE PLAN 

Here is an opening that may be worth investigating. The club 
women of Crete who are engaged in this work deem it one of their 
most pleasurable efforts, not only because of the work with the girls, 
but some of them because of the help they have -given other towns 
where they have been invited to present the Crete Plan to other clubs, 
and interested organizations. 

SUGGESTIONS WANTED. 

Any suggestions for the betterment of this plan, any device or 
methods that have proved permanently successful and easily operated 
without equipment or expense to school boards will be welcomed by 
the state superintendent. 

The largest and most important field, the one that should receive 
the greatest encouragement and help along industrial culture is found 
in our towns, villages and rural communities. The immediate aid, 
however, must come through the active philanthropy of the practical 
men and women in those communities. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



012 822 107 4 





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